1. Highlighting NYC's Culinary Talent with the 2010 New York Rising Stars Read about what sets this year's new and talented crop of New York Rising Star chefs, pastry chefs, mixologists, and sommeliers apart from their peers. Delve into their diverse culinary styles, backgrounds, and passions with biographies, recipes, and interviews.http://www.starchefs.com/cook/chefs/2010-new-york-rising-stars

5. This Year's ICC Schedule Released!The entire schedule for the fifth annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress has been released, and tickets for the September event are still available. Get yours now, and find out when you can catch Dan Barber, Johnny Iuzzini, Charlie Palmer, and more at this year's Creativity: Art vs. Craft-themed ICC. http://www.starchefs.com/cook/ICC-2010-schedule

6. Photo Galleries: Latest Photos from Our Recent TastingsPhotos from our recent pastry tastings in New York, Baltimore, DC, and beyond, including the StarChefs.com 2010 New York Rising Stars!http://www.starchefs.com/cook/photo-gallery

Natura features portraits of organic, otherworldly pastry landscapes, works of textural and visual art created by former elBulli pastry chef Albert Adrià. Starting with "snow cristal," created in 2003 to honor visiting Japanese restaurateurs the Hishidas, Adria has compiled years of creativity into this homage to the craft of pastry. "It is not my intention for Natura to be a style or line of work for professionals to find inspiration in," says Adrià in the book's afterword. "My only aim," he insists, "is to show the beauty of this trade." But inspiration seems inevitable when perusing the pages of Natura, with its detailed, close-up photographs of Adrià's freeform, nature-mimicking creations. Composed in the catalogue style of the elBulli yearbook, Natura focuses on 49 desserts-or morphs, as they are called at elBulli-born out of Adrià's unchained, fertile imagination. A DVD contains recipes for every morph and in the afterword Adrià describes his experience with the main techniques. Whether he's using dehydrated egg powder and a "minted" water cloud to make an ethereal "moss" or cocoa streusel powder to coat and flavor plain cookie crumbs for a vividly realistic "volcanic earth," Adrià pushes the boundaries of pastry texture, flavor, and composition. Natura at once celebrates and exemplifies the unbounded potential of the craft of pastry. http://www.starchefs.com/cook/cookbooks_keywords/natura

FAST FACTSRestaurant Recs: Montmartre for any form of their hanger steakKitchen Tool(s): Offset spatula because it's a multitask workhorseInterview Question: What type of desserts do you like better: chocolate or fruit?Flavor Combo(s): Caramel and SaltFave Cookbook(s): The Last Course by Claudia Fleming Chef to Cook for You: Living, it would have to be Thomas Keller-I would love to try his cuisine. Dead, James Beard, for obvious reasons.Culinary Travel: I love Italy. Their traditions are very much how I like to eat and cook; with open markets, the fresh produce, bread and cheese, you can't go wrong.

METHOD: Mix flours and sugar in mixer bowl. In a separate container dissolve the yeast in 300 grams of the water. Add the water and yeast to the flour and mix until the dough begins to come together. Add the salt, keep mixing, and add the butter in stages. Adjust the dough with the remaining water in order to achieve the right texture and elasticity.

To Assemble and Serve: Proofing and baking times and temperatures vary. Potential fillings include red beet, fennel and onion, rosemary/raisin, and black cabbage.

Recipes don't have to be complicated to be delicious. Check out QuickMeals and learn celebrity chefs' secrets for preparing fast and easy weeknight recipes.